Intelligent, curious, imaginative, and willing to learn and explore. Not defined by genre or age, she is practical one moment, dreaming the next, searching for answers on one hand and moving forward with confidence on the other.

Intelligent, curious, imaginative, and willing to learn and explore. Not defined by genre or age, she is practical one moment, dreaming the next, searching for answers on one hand and moving forward with confidence on the other.

Scribe & Hortatory

The Official Blog of S&H Publishing

Ian Lahey, who co-authored The 45th Nail with his father, Michael Lahey, lives and writes in Italy. His appreciation of the culture and the traditions of Italy shine through the words in his novel. In this short video he reads the beginning of his novel. The setting is 1987, but the horrors of World War II continue with unexploded mines and unexplored consequences buried deep in the minds of the men and women who lived through it. The destruction is not over when the peace treaty is signed—it continues to touch lives and hearts for generations. [more]

We were seated near a group of gray-beards in our local Ihop. Stray words spoken less than two feet from my ear penetrated the pauses in my own conversation. “…replaced the ball on top of the femur…we all rode the same bikes…a really smooth ride…two thousand miles…” Then a phrase did more than float past. “I’m a real grammar nazi.” What? A biker grammar nazi? The phrase resonated with me. Then I heard more. “His publisher…formatting…print on demand…Look at this one—a typical writer workshop…” This was my kind of talk. I reached in my purse and handed my card to… [more]

Joan Fallon has good reason to be proud of Palette of Secrets. It is an amazingly well-written story of Nancy Miller, an aging artist struggles to forget the secret that haunts her as she writes her memoirs. The problems of aging and the attitudes and reactions of others to the effects of these problems are skillfully woven in and around the plot. The author of The Graham Saga, Anna Belfrage, put it well when she said, ““Ms Fallon is an excellent writer. Her dialogue rings true throughout, her characters grow into tangible beings, and her descriptions bring the various setting… [more]

What a great gift! Buy a workshop, a set of workshops, or even an entire year of great learning experiences for your favorite writer. This is a one-time opportunity that will not be repeated—at least until next year. You can take 20% off of your order…of anything on the website! These workshops are suitable for writers at all levels. Sets of workshops also come with a free workbook. These twelve workshops are given each month on a rotating basis. You can order a 12-month membership at any time. One workshop is released each month, and the interaction with a knowledgable… [more]

A book is far more than putting words on the page. Before you begin, you should have a realistic view of what lies ahead. The path to publication must be planned and tailored to the book you envision. Gail Woodard of Dudley Court Press specializes in the long range view. Her half-day Strategy Session meets the challenge of fitting your publishing dreams into an overall career or life plan, whether you write fiction or nonfiction, for personal or commercial purposes. Email: gailw@dudleycourtpress.com for details. Why would one publisher give links to another publisher? Because we’re all in this together. We… [more]

Madame Dorion: Her Journey to the Oregon Country—historically accurate with fun-filled fiction. The fact that the fiction is clearly identifiable was one of the things that attracted me to this book when I first read it. The book is written in the form of a journaling the delineation between fact and fiction is shown by the form of the dates at the top of each entry. It does not intrude on the flow of the story, and the reader need not ever referred to it. The historical facts were, in part, gleaned from reading the actual journals of several of… [more]

We showed a sneak peek of the first workshop to a writers group with awesome results. Even after seeing the video, more than half of the attendees signed up! We were asking for a few comments, but we were pleasantly surprised that these people, who had been writing for years, signed up for the program. Without exception, they were impressed with the quality of the material presented. They wanted to view the video again and take their time, and the anticipation of interaction with the presenter was a powerful draw. Jo M. of Houston said, “After viewing just one Short… [more]

Maureen writes about what she knows and what she loves: newspapers and Maine. As a third generation newspaper editor, she portrays her protagonist, Bernie O’Dea, with a realism that can’t be matched. She also paints Maine with a strong and loving brush. The reader can almost smell the decaying leaves on the ground and feel the sweltering humidity of the Maine summer. With masterful use of flashbacks and step backs, Milliken braids three time lines into a single strong story that grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let it go. Bernie as owner of the local weekly newspaper, and Pete… [more]

Where do we find the building blocks for a trailer? Think about your goal. Think about your message. Think about your intended audience. The limits are set by your imagination. Use individual artistic talent. Among the most notable examples of this are the trailers of Maggie Stiefvater. This is one such trailer, the result of hours and hours of painstaking work and stop action photography. Make your own video using family and friends as characters. The trailer for “The Uncertainty Principle” by Maria Elizabeth McVoy in the S&H anthology, Short & Happy (or not) is a fantastic example. Use an online… [more]

Before the advent of the ebook, a book trailer might have been the only way to take enough books along on your summer vacation. However, we now have all manner of portable devices that can not only put dozens of books inside your pocket, but can give you animated versions of the book blurb. YouTube has been named the world’s second largest search engine. Authors and publishers are always looking for ways to get their books noticed, and the book trailer is just one more way to generate interest. Think of a trailer as an online book jacket. A trailer has… [more]

Before you commit your novel to a publisher, do your homework. Make sure you are a good fit. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all. How do you do this? Where do you look for answers? The first stop is to look at the website. If you like it, write down some of the titles they publish. Go to Amazon and look at the books. Use the Search Inside feature and read some of the book. Is this a book you would be happy to have sitting next to yours? Look at the cover, the formatting, and particularly at the writing. The… [more]

The Ugly Publisher not only treats authors badly, but does so with malice aforethought. The Granddaddy of ugly publishers is Author Solutions. Our August post Beware the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, made it clear that discovering the underlying publisher is not always easy. Author Solutions has a gazillion imprints, and many of them are associated with otherwise legitimate publishers. Dr Judith Briles, in her excellent blog The Book Shepherd, says the following: “Author Solutions has gotten into bed with Hay House (Balboa Press), Thomas Nelson (Westbow Press), Simon & Schuster (Archway Publishing packages start at $1599 and can go up… [more]

It is the beginning of a new year and time to take another look at small publishers. This month we will discuss the BAD and leave the Ugly for the shortest month. Don’t want to look at them too long. Bad is a Relative Term What is meant by a “bad” small publisher? Probably every person who reads this blog will be able to give a definition of a “bad” publisher, and there are good odds that no two of those definitions will be the same. To our mind, a bad publisher is one who treats the author badly. What does this mean?… [more]

This is the time of year for happiness and good cheer, so today will only cover THE GOOD, leaving THE BAD and THE UGLY for another day. A Good Small Publisher is the Author’s Partner A good partnership is one in which both partners collaborate to produce a quality product. In publishing, as in any other business, both partners need to contribute. Contributing does not always mean contributing money! The author has already contributed a great deal of time and work to produce a quality manuscript. The best of the small publishers consider themselves to be the venture capitalist of the partnership…. [more]

How long does it take an author to write a book? The answer varies from author to author. Some authors can take years to research the facts behind their stories. Others take years to write and polish their books. After the book is as close to perfection as possible, it can take another year or longer to find an agent, and even more time for the agent to find the right publisher. At last, a contract with a Big Publisher! Time to celebrate! Bring out the fireworks! What happens then? It can take 12 to 16 months to get on… [more]